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Friday, November 14, 2008

My Week in Comics is a weekly look into my…uh…buying habits. Keep in mind that the reviews to be read here are not coming from a jaded, old comic book enthusiast but more of a wide-eyed fan of these monthly installments of yum or mush.Also, *SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!*

It's pretty rare for comics to be emotionally engaging these days, unless you have an unhealthy fixation for fictional characters or something. This week we have two comics that prove that while comics are a cheap form of entertainment, they still pack a whole lot more than they look.

First up is Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk's Captain Britain and the MI:13 #7, which sees the team either fighting each other or fighting for survival, all the while being in the thick of demonic hellfire courtesy of Doctor Plotka. Cornell and co. totally owned this issue, as they give the cast some great character moments while keeping it snappy, coherent and engaging. Cornell is making writing a team book look so easy it borders on retarded, and Kirk matches it with his A-game material art. I mean, check out Spitfire in this issue. That's one hot grandma!

While the whole 'British' speech effect still needs some getting used to (try reading it with a British accent...its more fun to read that way!), it would be nitpicking compared to all the kinds of awesome contained this issue. And with the shocking reveal at the end, this book has you hooked and ready to see what happens next. This is a real page-turner, so I have to give this one a 9 out of 10.

Then we have another gorgeous book in the form of JSA Kingdom Come Special: Superman by Alex Ross. This is the first time Ross has written, penciled and inked a comic book all by himself (think about it for a sec), and he still manages to blow you away with it! In this one-shot, Ross explores the fears and doubts that burden KC (Kingdom Come) Superman as he tries to make sure the events of Kingdom Come doesn't take place in this Earth.

Story-wise, I've never read anything quite as powerful. Ross makes us care about KC Superman...the man who can survive in a Kryptonite gas cloud without batting an eyelash, but is visibly shaken when the Lois Lane of this Earth tries to talk to him that he can't even bear to look at her. We also get to look back at a touching yet tragic moment between KC Superman and the Lois of his Earth, moments after Joker's attack on the Daily Planet (as described in Kingdom Come). Her dying words to him literally made me choke back some tears reading it in the mall. Seriously. This comic almost made me cry.

As for the art, it's Ross' best to date, if not his best ever. The detail is amazing, and for a guy who's inking his work for the first time, he just makes it look easy. Alex Sinclair's colors only served to highlight the great art on this issue, making this one of the most gorgeous books out there this week. There's also a 'behind-the-scenes' feature after the story, showing Ross' insanely detailed thumbnails and before-and-after shots of his pencil work to inked ones, which caps off this truly great comic book. I can't put into words just how awesome this issue is, so I gotta give this one 10 out of 10.

So what's the verdict? Two highly recommended comics in a single week! That's gotta be some sort of record for me. Another two comics for the 'awesome' bin!

Got any questions, comments or violent reactions? You are more than welcome to leave comments below and discuss anything that might have interested you in this blog post this week. My Week in Comics is now up every Friday. Thanks for reading!

Be the grains of sand, and nothing but time will take you. The rocks must become it, the waves and wind must bear it and those who would hold it find it slips through their grasp. Always some trace in a faraway nook, if never the whole is seen again.